Category Archives: Book Picked Me

Fatal Grace: Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2

April 24, 2024Book Picked Me, Challenge, Family, Mystery, Pie, WiaN2024favorite challenge, Go Chiefs!, Oh Canada, What's In a Name, WiaN NFL Team, WiaN2024Care

Thoughts by Louise Penny, 2006, 313 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: NFL Team: CHIEFS!

Genre/Theme: Mystery

Type/Source: Tradeback / unknown

What It’s About: This is a story about mothers and daughters. Nature and nurture, too, to some extent. If you fell for Chief Inspector Gamache in the first book (Still Life), this is more of that kindly intelligent sleuthing by conversation.

We meet the victim first and she is truly unlikeable. But does she deserve to die? Why did she move to Three Pines in the first place? What is she looking for in that dear town and how awful can she be to EVERYONE?! The murder is clever in its own right and unraveling the possibilities beyond the motive is part of the fun. If fun is what you call it? #sigh

Thoughts: I do not think this is standalone. In fact, I wish more time hadn’t passed between reading this and series #1 – which means that if I want to read #3, I best hurry!

Rating: Four slices of pie. I would have given it three stars because my recollection of the details in the first book escaped me and I don’t like loose threads. The extra slice of pie is gratitude for the lovely bits about lemon meringue pie. Kudos!

Copyright © 2007-2024. Care’s Books and Pie also known as and originally created as Care’s Online Book Club. All rights reserved. This post was originally posted by Care. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.

Ghosts of the Tsunami

March 5, 2024Audio, Book Picked Me, Challenge, Family, No Pie Mentioned, NonFiction, Poetry, WiaN2024favorite challenge, What's In a Name, WiaN Natural Disaster category, WiaN2024Care

Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone

Thoughts by Richard Lloyd Parry, 2017, 7 hours 47 min, 295 HC

Narrated by Simon Vance

Challenge: What’s in a Name: Natural Disaster category

Genre/Theme: Nonfiction / Japan Tsunami March 2011

Type/Source: Audiobook / Audible

What It’s About: This story focuses most on a school that suffered higher than typical casualties for a tsunami in Japan. This was no ordinary tsunami, but it is obvious that the school administrators were caught off-guard and were ill-prepared. This is such a sad sad look into how humans grieve, blame, deal with their demons, and move on, if that is accurate. It’s not. The ghosts emerge in the very last section and it is fascinating!

Thoughts: A heartening and disheartening look at a culture, a community, politics – it’s ALL politics!, and connectedness. Of being human against and with the forces of nature. I can’t say it was enjoyable, but I’m glad to have read this.

Rating: Four slices of pie. No pie mentioned, though it is possible that a Japanese style of pastry that might fit my loose definition of “What is Pie?” was mentioned and I’m just ignorant of it.

“An easing of walls

A shuddering of souls

a pebble loosens, falls.

In the room, alone – it has

It begins, and then is gone

ripples outlast stone

Rain, smell, stirs the heart

Nostrils flare, a breath

We wait for something to start.”
-Anthony Thwaite?

Absolution

November 29, 2023Book Picked Me, Family, Read in Published Year, Reviewbook #92 of the year, Women on the edge of historyCare

Thoughts by Alice McDermott, Harper Audio, 10 hours 3 minutes

Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky, Rachel Kenney.

Challenge: Personal whim, part of my introduction to Alice McDermott

Genre/Theme: Adult Literature / American Wives during the Vietnam War

Type/Source: Audiobook / Audible

What It’s About: A newly married young woman, eager to be a “helpmeet” to her attorney husband, meets Charlene, a force to be reckoned with. They are in Saigon, it’s the Vietnam War, and so many Americans – both military and corporate – are enjoying quite the exotic life of the ex-pats: garden parties, servants for every need, charity work; more parties and parties, it seemed. These heady days of being newlywed and in a foreign country are told by Tricia to Rainey, the daughter of Charlene. Rainey is now in her early 60s and has reached out to Tricia, to reconnect, make some sense of those years in Vietnam, and share their memories.

There is a LOT in this, lots to think about and not just with the characters, but their lives against the backdrop of history.

Thoughts: McDermott can write evocative sentences and rich descriptions; setting the reader, right there, seeing the sights, hearing the sounds, reliving the action. The pluses of the novel are also what I doubted – how could anyone remember all these juicy details in a letter, decades later? Maybe I am wondering if the epistolary format was the best idea.

I have this feeling that I’ve missed something in this and know that a pointed discussion, weighing pros and cons – and not really that or rather “think about this“, might bring this up to a 5 star read. It was good. It was complicated, it had its scary and sad – McDermott had my heart-pounding with dread during a few key scenes. But I know I question some other parts and pieces, and wonder about my own skewed perspective. I think it could well be a case of missing the forest for the trees. This could be an excellent book club book.

Rating: Four slices of pie.

I read Charming Billy by Alice McDermott before this, its having been recommended to me as a good place to start to explore this author’s work. I gave it 5 slices of pie, and yet that is waning, a bit. What did I like so much about that? Had to be the writing. I’m thinking now that I will be thinking about Absolution more and having it grow in my esteem.

Ann Patchett was the person to recommend Absolution to me.

Nonfiction November, Week FOUR 2023

November 22, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, NonFictionHashtags #NonFicNov #NonFictionNovember, how did it shape my thinking?, I don't necessarily think it is the book everyone *must* read, Michael Servetus, might not actually fit the theme as suggested by this week but the first book that came to mind, NonFiction, Sticky Book, the GoldstonesCare

Link to the host for this month’s celebration of reading nonfiction:

Challenge: Read NONFICTION in the month of NOVEMBER #NonfictionNovember #NonFicNov2023 #NonFicNov

Week FOUR: Books that SHAPE understandings -OR- the ONE book that EVERYONE MUST READ!

I have a category in my goodreads that is labeled THAT-BOOK, so that I can easily find it when conversation goes in these kinds of directions. Which I guess is weird – why/how could I forget the title and author?! But I would or have, but maybe not so much now that I put it in a place to help me remember.

The book I refer to as THAT BOOK!

This book tells about Michael Servetus, scientist who is credited with the discovery of the pulmonary circulation of the human body. But you’ve probably not known about this because the book that he wrote to explain it (well, this interesting thing and more about how wrong the church powers that be were wrong, oops) was considered heretic! and Servetus was burned at the stake, along with most of the copies. Only three managed to survive. It took CENTURIES before his discovery was made known.

In my first blog post about it, I wrote:

I found it captivating, enthralling and unforgettable. Before book blogging and any attempt to track my reading, I did often forget the title AND the authors, but I could never get the STORY out of my head and would tell everyone about it – WOW! It’s got church history, medical history, book history, drama drama drama and more drama. If that appeals to you, I recommend it.
Also Known As STICKY BOOKS <– link to post from June 2009

Is there a book that you’ve read that rocked your world in some way, changed (or shaped) your thinking, or just was so good — THAT good — that you want everyone to read it? Or do you have a collection of books on a topic that you wish more people would become interested or more knowledgeable about?

Click on the image above to find the Official blog for this fourth week’s festivities – Rebekah’s introductory post for this week is THAT good, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nonfiction November, Week THREE 2023

November 15, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, Lists, NonFiction, PieHashtags #NonFicNov #NonFictionNovember, NonFictionCare

Link to the host for this month’s celebration of reading nonfiction:

Challenge: Read NONFICTION in the month of NOVEMBER #NonfictionNovember #NonFicNov2023 #NonFicNov

Week THREE: Book Pairings

I have two pairings to suggest: the first, I read both – kind of by accident! and the second, is a pairing recently brought to my attention that looks quite intriguing. Come to think of it, both of these suggestions could bring in the film to make a triptych – or nevermind. ANY book pairing probably has a documentary telling more, do you think?

The FIRST Book Pairing:

The classic All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque was my choice to satisfy the What’s in a Name Challenge 2023 category of a Title with Q or X or Z. But I had accidently requested the Modern Critical Interpretations book from the library instead. Which I read it anyway, of course. I also fell down a rabbit hole reading about Remarque – interesting guy.

The Interpretations was a collection of history and literary scholars discussing why the book was important, its major themes, its reception by the world, etc. VERY good stuff. A few were dry, some quite fascinating.

My review of the Nonfiction Interpretation s.

My review of the Fiction Classic:

The Second Book Pairing:

When I heard that Scorsese was making a film of David Grann’s The Killers of the Flower Moon, I figured it was time to finally read this book club darling. It seems like many people I know had read it. What struck me the most and shouldn’t be a surprise, especially in light of so much hate, terror and war on our globe right now, but still! Mankind has a scary appetite for greed and violence.

AND THEN, someone posted a comment on Facebook about an author and one of her books, Linda Hogan: “a Native American poet, storyteller, academic, playwright, novelist, environmentalist and writer of short stories.” (Copied and pasted from the goodreads page) and how sad it is that Grann has all the attention/fame/fortune this story of these crimes against the Osage AND that he likely read this book: (Which, according to the recommendation I saw, is better written.)

Now, I haven’t read this yet; I do think more people should know of her work and give it a try, maybe a terrific way to celebrate during Native American Heritage Month (November). I’m ordering my own copy — and will be stopping by our Mid-America Indian Center to check if they have it on their giftstore book shelf.

What has been YOUR favorite FICTION read this year so far that has inspired you to look for a NONFICTION book for further study? Do you enjoy book pairings? I do.

Click on this image to find the Official blog for this third week’s festivities:

Nonfiction November, Week ONE & TWO 2023

November 9, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, Lists, NonFiction, PieHashtags #NonFicNov #NonFictionNovember, NonFictionCare

Link to (what I hope is) the host for this month’s celebration of reading nonfiction!

Challenge: Read NONFICTION in the month of NOVEMBER #NonfictionNovember #NonFicNov2023 #NonFicNov

Week ONE: What NONFICTION have you read so far this year?

Type/Source: Doesn’t matter where you get it or in what format you enjoy

I’ve read 18-19 so far, depending on whether or not you count the 1-2 hour Audible Musician “Words + Music” nuggets as “books” which goodreads only does sometimes.

This image is missing the Pete Townsend and the Alice Cooper. I have a thing for musicians, I guess. Also, I have no good time record of when I listened to some of those, so . . . In other words: “whatever”.

Interesting mix, doncha think? I do love nonfiction.

Which brings us to the prompt for Week 2:

Week Two: Choosing Nonfiction?

I have no idea what motivates me to pick up what when. Most can be attributed to spur of the moment and availability. The Dern and Ladd book was super quick: I saw them being interviewed on the Today Show and was already planning on visiting a bookstore that day so I bought it. The Many Lives of Mama Love? I have no idea how that hit my radar but I had requested the eBook from Libby and when it was ready to borrow, I read it. SO GOOD. The Roz Chast Can’t We Talk About Something More Pleasant? was a gift from the Library kicking off the “Wichita (KS) Reads” program to spark community discussion and resource exploration on death care. VERY GOOD. Killers of Flower Moon because the movie… Walking With Sam was for an author event.

What has been YOUR favorite NONFICTION read this year so far? Mine is this one:

Because I just finished it and I can’t pick a favorite. Recency Bias for the win!

Maggie O’Farrell is a HOT author right now, coming off the success of Hamnet and her latest doing quite well, too. Someone recommended this and it was available. Had just finished an eBook so was ready for another.

In this memoir from 2017, she discusses all the near-misses and brushes with death she has experienced in her life and ends with a chapter on how parenthood challenges skew all of that perspective considerably. Fascinating and written SO WELL; I just might have to add her to my authors-to-read-EVERYTHING-written list. (IS there a good way to title this list? I never know quite how to phrase it…)

Honey, Baby, Mine

August 24, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, Family, NonFiction, Pie, Wian2023celebrity!!!!!!!!!!!, favorite challenge, I have never seen Jurassic Park, LD is about my age and we could be friends LOL, mothers and daughters, NonFiction, the word punctuation is a delight to type, What's In a Name, WiaN Punctuation category, Wild at HeartCare

Thoughts by Laura Dern and Diane Ladd, Grand Central Publishing 2023, 256 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: Punctuation category

Genre/Theme: Nonfiction / Mothers & Daughters, Life Stories, Overcoming

Type/Source: Hardcover / Indie bookstore

What It’s About: Diane Ladd was diagnosed with a health challenge and one innovative, daring doctor prescribed walking as a remedy for her limited-capacity lung functionality. Laura took it on as a mission to get her mother walking by telling stories — a big ask because walking and talking when walking hurts is a freaking BIG ask!

They walk til they can’t and they talk. They ask the big questions. They celebrate their history and they celebrate their love.

Thoughts: I loved it. I have a soft gooey spongey spot in my heart for these two because of one of the WEIRDEST movies ever and truthfully, a movie that didn’t show well the 2nd or 3rd time I watched it (ah, youth) but … what can I say? Certain culture touch-points are tagged in memory for a place and time and the movie they made together, Wild at Heart, as batshit-crazy a movie you may never watch, is one of those for my mid-20s. (How’s THAT for an endorsement – hey! I warned you, it’s nutty!!!)

I was watching the Today Show when these ladies were interviewed about this book and I immediately ordered it. Artists, they are. This book has love and just good stuff. Or, at least that is what I remember – I read this back in April/May and just now reviewing it as my entry for Punctuation.

Rating: I gave it 4 slices of pie. I probably wanted more. I don’t recall any flaws – it is perfect for what it wants to be. Photos, a bit of gossip, evolving and changing love between a mom & dot, history, overcoming challenges by actively moving bodies to cure and help a situation, all good stuff.

… “You (Diane Ladd) love to go on cleansing fasts and then break them with a piece of pecan pie and a scotch and soda.”.

A Little Book of Sloth

August 23, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, Library, NonFiction, Pie, Travel, Wian2023favorite challenge, NonFiction, rescued baby sloths can never be returned to the jungle, sloths are truly adorable, What's In a Name, Wian 7 Deadly Sins categoryCare

Thoughts by Lucy Cooke, Margaret K. McElderry Books 2013, 144 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: Seven Deadly Sins category

Genre/Theme: Nonfiction / Animals

Type/Source: Hardcover / Library

What It’s About: Lots and lots of photos of adorable sloths. Some cutesy descriptions of adorable sloths, and a few interesting facts about sloths.

Thoughts: Yes, yes, just another book to fit the What’s in a Name Challenge. This time for category of 7 Deadly Sins. I still have another book I hope to get to yet this year that will meet the challenge; we’ll see.

Rating: Three slices of pie.

… don’t be fooled by his sweetie-pie looks.

100 Things to Do in Wichita Before You Die

August 23, 2023Book Picked Me, Challenge, Life, Lists, NonFiction, Pie, Travel, Wian2023Bucket List, favorite challenge, NonFiction, The cover shows the LARGEST hand-painted grain elevator by a single artist in the US, What's In a Name, WiaN You or Me categoryCare

Thoughts by Vanessa Whiteside, Reedy Press 2022, 144 pages

Challenge: What’s in a Name: You or Me category

Genre/Theme: Nonfiction, Travel

Type/Source: Tradeback / (I don’t remember if I got this at the Indie bookstore? probably)

What It’s About: I grew up in Wichita and am back after alllllll those years after college; most of that time enjoying the East Coast. Now I need to re-acquaint myself with my new old home town.

The bad news first: the pie shop is already gone. Or moved farther away and became more of a general dessert shop. I am sad. I did manage to visit before they embarked on that change (and I visited after but wasn’t impressed by their offerings.)

Good news is that Husband and I have visited quite a few of the other food delights and tourist attractions and other sundry odd & ends of places with a few more yet to do. So I’m glad I purchased this book to have it handy for guests and overall angst of “WE NEED TO GET OUT MORE” feelings that I often have when succumbing to hiding at home reading a book. (Not that there is anything wrong with that… ahem.)

Wichita, KS named 4th best US city for summer travel!
Wallet Hub 2023

Thoughts: To be honest, I bought this and read it cover to cover to count for the What’s in a Name Challenge category of YOU in the title! Yay me! LOL

Rating: Five slices of pie because WHY NOT? Everyone should read books about their home town.

The Family Fang

August 13, 2023Author Recommendation, Book Picked Me, Employment, Family, ReviewAnn Patchett was thanked in the Acknowledgements, book #63 of the year, Book to Movie, dysfunctional families, easy as pie, favorite author, humble pie, movie has a great cast, pie in the sky, Wilson's wife is a poetCare

Thoughts by Kevin Wilson, HarperCollins 2011, 320 pages

Challenge: Personal whim

Genre/Theme: Adult Literature / Family Dynamics / Past imposing onto future

Type/Source: eBook / Libby

What It’s About: A sister “A” and brother “B” who grew up participating in their parents “weird” performance art have moved on and attempted to find normalcy in their lives. But then, shit happens and they each come home, mostly to support each other. Their parents’ house is not only a place to recover but might be a good step to move on in a healthy manner – confront the demons, if you will. But then! their parents disappear and law enforcement assumes foul play.

The sister, Annie, doesn’t buy it, insists it is just another of their pranks. The brother, Buster (Baxter in the movie), is not so sure. Do they attempt to look for them and confront the lunacy? or, do they just take a brief time to mourn, and put it all behind them? Is finding them part of the prank, do Mom and Dad want to be found?

Thoughts: I liked it, it has some hilarious situations and some interesting thoughts to bring into the question of whether or not parents will mess you up, regardless if they are trying not to or don’t care. But overall, I don’t think it will stay with me.

The film failed to capture the tenderness that the siblings share; it was lackluster. Book is better.

If you are a fan of Wilson’s more recent work, this will have recognizable seeds of later stories.

Rating: Four slices of pie. Has a pie scene so I’m all aboard for that.

“The worst movie she’d ever been a part of, one of her first roles, was called Pie in the Sky When you Die, about a private detective who investigates a murder at a pie-eating contest during the county fair.

“It’s like Murder on the Orient Express,” the screenwriter told Annie during a read-through, “but instead of a train, it’s got pie.”
Annie is pursuing a career in acting. Baxter is a novelist.